411 on my frames: Glass vs. Acrylic

When you think of a photo frame, chances are you think of a traditional wood or metal frame and a glass pane. It’s what you’d probably find on the walls at your parent’s house. But there’s a new kid in town that we’d like to introduce you to: acrylic.

Let's chat about glass first

Glass is classic and the weighty feel of it makes the frame feel luxe. It’s been a mainstay for years and when you walk the home decor aisle of any superstore, or even in your own home, glass is always there. This is mainly because glass is inexpensive, lowering costs of production for manufacturers, and durable, being able to withstand some rough treatment from cleaning agents. A couple of pro photo labs use glass in their photo framing as well.

But I have quickly learned, glass is a huge pain. Huge. Here are the realities of glass:

It’s highly breakable. Especially in transit. I can’t even tell you the number of times I had shipping damages when my frames were comprised of glass. Too many. It’s for this reason that many online retailers, prefer frames with acrylic. It also weighs less than half of glass, which helps keeps shipping costs down. So because I hand deliver or ship my frames, acrylic is the superior option.

Because of the risk of injury that comes with glass frames, they should never be used in rooms where children frequent - living rooms, nurseries, etc. Anything could happen, and you don’t want the risk of the glass breaking and injuring someone. Not to mention when glass breaks it can seriously damage the photograph itself. Plus the pain of having to sweep of all that broken glass? Ugh, no thanks.

That weighty, luxe feeling that we all love? Yeah, that’s not a good thing when it comes to medium and large sized frames. The weight of the glass will cause the frame to bow. There’s not much that can help you avoid this issue. Even at a professional custom frame shop, acrylic will be recommended in frames over 16x20 and in frames with modern, thin profiles.

The glare and tint. While most don’t realize it, glass is not completely color-free. It commonly has a green tint due to the iron content which Compromises the viewing quality of your work. No one wants to see a greenish tinted wedding photo.

That's it for now! I'll be sharing the pros and cons of acrylic soon! 

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